It's the little things in life

Monthly Archives: May 2014

What’s Bubs Up To: she’s still moving heaps and definitely more so when I’m lying stretched out or after some sugar or a cuppa.

Symptoms: the occasional headache upon waking up – I think this is because I’m not drinking water for such a long period of time; still feeling light headed and definitely not able to do much eg: days of shopping are looooong gone

Cravings: still continuing on the hot chips love affair

Keep that away from me: the smell of a yucky dishwasher

Weight: unknown.

Feelings: excited I sorted out all the clothes (not washing just sorting) and we’ve sort of figured out what we’re going to do with the nursery – she’ll be sharing it with my craft room and we’ll be getting rid of the bulky computer and office desk. Not the ultimate dream nursery but it will still be cute and eventually she’ll be sharing with Logan anyway.

I’ve gone back to being a bit nervous like I’m taking all this for granted but we’ll take it one week at a time and they seem to be rushing by at a crazy speed.

Random: Completed the glucose test so hopefully I get the results on Tuesday at my next midwife appointment. I don’t feel like it will come back positive as I seem to be the same as Logan but this is one of those hurdles I have to pass so I get to stay at the Birth Centre. I didn’t get faint with this one either and the woman who gave me the needles were two of the best I’ve had yet!

What’s Bubs Up To: kicking, rolling moving non-stop and I can see her from the outside now.

Symptoms: still dizzy more so in the mornings which really puts a downer on the start of the day! It also makes it difficult to get even the simplest tasks done (unpacking the dishwasher anyone…). Headaches have also kicked in which is annoying and I’m not sleeping that great either but that’s not uncommon.

Cravings: hot chips & sweets

Keep that away from me: big bits of meat – most times I’m fine with it but if it becomes really obvious that it’s just meat I feel a bit sick – I imagine this is on the tiny scale compared to what makes people vegetarians (& obviously they do it for other reasons too!)

Weight: unknown.

Feelings: Loving how Logan is “bonding” with his little sister, he constantly wants to “see baby sister” and will then start blowing raspberries and trying to wake her up. He swears that she kicks him but she hasn’t yet.

Random: Nothing much for here, I’m getting a few ‘Pinterest’ ideas for Baby Girl’s nursery and hoping I’ll get crafty!

You are already so loved from the constant attention that your big brother gives you (sorry for all those noisy raspberries and smooshes!) and the non-stop hands on my belly from your Mummy and far. It is so nice to be able to feel you now, to know that you are growing stronger every day.

Before we found out you were a girl I was very nervous, I didn’t think we’d be lucky enough to have one of each and then when we did find out we were that lucky I got doubly nervous. What was I going to do with a girl? Obviously your wardrobe would be over flowing but how would you bond with your brother? I had no idea about that I’d only grown up with a little sister – hopefully there won’t be as much fighting!

Now I’ve had time to let it sink in, I’m excited. Sure parenting you won’t be that different in the early stages compared to your brother – although being the second child I think you’ll have an easier ride!

I don’t know why but I’m sure you’re going to be a little fire-cracker and I’m excited. I want you to be passionate about life and achieving your dreams. I don’t want you to catch my homebody issues (until you become a teenager that is!). I want you to always be respectful and willing to help people out. You will always have the world at your finger tips my gorgeous girl.

I never want you to worry about your body even if people tease you just turn the other cheek. No one has power over you when it comes to your looks and how you feel about yourself. Besides you’re half Scandinavian you lucky thing! Beauty really does come from the inside and if you look like a supermodel more power to you but never ever act like you deserve it, always be humble. And, if you don’t look like a supermodel so what! One day you are going to light up someone’s room (other than everyone who already loves you) and I want you to remember that feeling for the rest of your life.

I don’t want you to be defined by your gender, anything your brother can do you can to – unless it’s illegal or mean! If you don’t want to follow the traditional uni route and would rather go down the tradie route that’s all ok with me! Heck if you want to live in a commune go for it! I just want you to be happy. I hope the world stops seeing gender as a problem by the time you are older or that your generation is the turning point!

Most of all Baby Girl I want you to know you are so loved already and in those moments when we fight like cat and dog and swear we hate each other – neither of us will mean it. If you take after me we are going to have some doozies but we’ll always pull through and if you ever want to runaway let me know ahead of time and I’ll let you have your escape I promise – I know how hard it is to go into battle and wage war (figuratively speaking) and I promise to give you space. Just remember that I love you and that will never end no matter what.

This letter is a bit all over the place but that’s what life is all about never knowing where you’re going to wind up.

My family has always been insanely close so it feels like there’s a big hole because she’s gone over to the other side of the country. I’m really happy for her but miss her like crazy especially with the kids growing up and only have limited contact with their awesome Aunty and Uncle. But this one is about making the most of it. It’s fun to send and receive mail and thankfully technology has come a long way.

Unfortunately it costs a lot to fly to the other side of Australia and Logan isn’t free any more. I think this will be our ‘holiday’ whilst I’m on leave and it will be great to spend time with her, see their new home and have some good old fashion family bonding.

SIXTEEN: CAMPING

This constantly pops up on my lists and with this shift in the weather kicking in it’s making me more desperate to get it done. Sadly I don’t see it happening whilst I’m pregnant – the whole needing to pee non-stop and how uncomfortable sleeping on the ground is – but I’ll be dragging the rest of the family out as soon as possible.

SEVENTEEN: SPEND MORE TIME WITH FRIENDS

Because I’m such a homebody I usually let the time slide between catch ups but when they do happen I really enjoy them. I have been putting in more effort in this regard and I find that if I get in the mindset of ‘but they aren’t putting in the same effort’ it’s just a complete waste of my energy. Besides, there’s a whole range of reasons why people don’t organise catch-ups, the important thing is that people rock up and we all have a good time.

EIGHTEEN: ESCAPE THE HOUSE WITH TWO KIDS IN TOW

My aim is to get this done within the first two weeks of Baby Girl being born (provided everything goes ok). I’m thinking shopping or a big trip out not simply going to the doctor or to Mum’s group.

NINETEEN: MORE PICNICS

Logan loves picnics and the whole family enjoys getting out and having dinner in the open air. We have a gorgeous park over looking the river that we occasionally go to but I want to make it a common thing. Similar to how families have Sunday Roast we’ll have weekend picnic dinner and if it’s too hard to get out we can always do it in our front yard.

TWENTY: LEARN A NEW SKILL

I have bought some yarn and crochet hooks in preparation for this one. But I think I’d rather learn a new skill that’s job related. I miss knowing stuff like html and how to make a website look pretty not that that’s related to my field but, I want to feel like I’m not losing myself to my children.

TWENTY ONE: COOK MORE

I want to start cooking more meals and making my own snacks for Logan. He has way too big a sweet tooth and is constantly snacking so I want to try and ensure he has better stuff going into his body than sweets and baby cinos. I guess I should also add stop giving in to a toddler to this list too then ha-ha

TWENTY TWO: SELL A WHOLE TONNE OF HOUSE STUFF

We have a big house but will definitely be down-sizing in the future and with a new baby coming into the fold we need to do a clear out. I’ll be aiming to sell a bunch of stuff on Gumtree but I’m also tossing up the idea of having a garage sale…unfortunately heading into winter that probably isn’t the wisest thing to do considering we have no garage.

This stems on from my wanting to live simply and with less. We have too much stuff in our house, I’m trying to keep more from coming in unless it is necessary but somehow it still accumulates!

TWENTY THREE: WRITE MORE

The desire to write a novel is still there but it’s not a fire burning in my belly instead its an occasional spark. I’m hoping by writing more that the passion will return. I have no ideas currently floating around in my head and no plans to have a novel written by a certain date either. This should also help with improving my blogging and blog content as well.

TWENTY FOUR: MAKE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

The list is becoming a bit more creative that what I thought I wanted! I did this before Logan was born as well because I knew we wouldn’t have too much money. This time around I plan on doing the same thing. I’ve got some decent ideas up my sleeve so that people don’t feel like they’re getting ripped off with a crappy diy pressie – I don’t mean that in a materialistic way I just love giving presents at Christmas and always aim to please the receiver.

TWENTY FIVE: CELEBRATE ME

I want to learn to enjoy myself and ensure I’m a good person to be around. I find it easy to get time to myself (especially if Logan has a decent nap!) but I guess what I mean by this is that I want to do something for myself. This will not involve my phone, iPad or a computer and will be more focused on stopping and smelling the roses.

Maybe this will be me teaching myself something new or it could be as simply as sitting outside with a cup of tea and taking 5 minutes to myself. I have no expectations for this one other than enjoyment.

TWENTY SIX: TO DO LISTS

I need these in my life and I’ve found I’m much more productive if I have things to tick off, especially when it comes to cleaning. I won’t be letting them rule my life but I need a bit more structure to ensure I get shit done.

TWENTY SEVEN: PLAY WITH MY CHILDREN

I am not the mother I thought I would be, I hate pretend play, hate it, hate it, hate it, so of course what does my toddler love more than anything…

I’m going to make sure I spend this year getting down on the floor, building towers, cooking cakes and saving Mickey & Minnie from a ravenous tiger.

TWENTY EIGHT: CONTINUE TOWARDS OUR GOAL OF HOME OWNERSHIP

It won’t be happening before I turn 29 (no way no how) but I can ensure that we’re in a good position in the lead up.

So friends, that’s what I’m aiming to focus on in my 28th year (or is it 29th…) maybe I should have added learn maths to the list!

I’m a young Mum, something that I constantly get teased about at Mum’s Group, in the real world it’s tough, in blogger land I’m just one of the crowd. It seems to be a common thing to read blogs written by Mums my age – I’m not sure if it’s stereotypical of me to say that and maybe it is common in America but it definitely doesn’t seem like a common thing here in Oz. So it’s nice to get lost in this world every once in awhile although I would like to know how a lot of them afford their seemingly awesome lifestyles! I guess that’s the behind closed doors area of blogging that only a few people address. I’ve always worn my heart on my sleeve and I’ll never stop discussing the potential ‘taboo’ subjects on here – but that’s for another time now it’s BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS!

Most long-term readers know I have a love-hate relationship with my birthday. This has been tempered by the introduction of birthday weeks for us all. It isn’t an excuse to go crazy and buy lots of presents it’s a reason to honour the person and give them more than 1 special day. It also usually means zero housework which in my mind is the best present there is!

I also have a love of writing bucket lists and this birthday I’ve decided to follow in the footsteps of Kaelah (from The Clueless Girl’s Guide) by doing a birthday year type bucket list. So here’s my list of 28 things to do before I hit 29 and it’s going to be a roller-coaster year with Baby Girl added to the mix.

ONE: BECOME A MUM OF TWO & GROW AS A PARENT

This is the big one but (universe willing) it will be the easiest. I definitely want to change the way I parent and it feels silly saying this is but it’s like I get a second go at it and I chance to fix mistakes I think I’ve made with Logan. Then again Logan is pretty set in his ways so maybe this won’t be so easy!

TWO: ESCAPE MY COMFORT ZONE

I will go out instead of hiding out at home – this is the thing I really can’t stand about myself – I often talk about this and maybe I should professionally discuss it but after doing a psychology degree I really have no desire to! A lot of people just don’t get this about me and a lot of people I wouldn’t even admit this to because it’s weird and as I said nobody gets it. I just need to force myself to take this giant leap and I need to remember I can do it using baby steps.

THREE: HOLD BACK MY WORDS

I can be a real bitch sometimes and this is something else I want to work on. It’s easy to say something mean because I’m grumpy/pissed off/angry and use that feeling as an excuse but it isn’t nice for anyone. This one makes me sound like a real cow and I promise I’m not.

FOUR: EXERCISE MORE

This will come into play once Baby Girl is born and I’ve recovered enough to start my PT sessions again. I definitely want to go on walks every day though whilst on parental leave.

FIVE: COMPLETE ONE MAJOR CREATIVE PROJECT

I’ve found lots of lists I’ve put too many projects on so I’ve decided to just focus on one. I’m not feeling very creative after having Logan so I don’t want to line myself up for a fall considering I’ll have two kids to look after. I don’t know what this project will be yet but I’ll share it on here once I’ve figured it out.

SIX: MAKE MEAL PLANNING WORK FOR THE FAMILY

I know there are blogs dedicated to this, regular posts written about it so it is definitely not something easy. I finally devoted a bit of time to it last weekend and I think with a bit of tweaking this will definitely help us out, especially with point 7.

SEVEN: LEARN TO BUDGET

We will definitely need this one once my parental leave becomes of the unpaid variety. It’s going to be different this time around because Logan costs us a lot more than an infant and we have gotten accustomed to living on two salaries (even if mine is only part-time).

EIGHT: REVAMP MY WARDROBE

I have one of the most stylish put together Mum friends ever and yes I must admit to a bit of jealousy and idolising but I also appreciate the inspiration.

This one will be tricky because I’ll still be breast feeding when my next birthday rolls around (ugh!). I’ll have time to cultivate the kind of looks that I’m after though and I’ll be aiming to put it to good use. I also want to do this cheaply but not on the cheap – if that makes sense. I don’t want to spend too much money but I also don’t want to buy cheap clothing that will wear out quickly.

I’ll also be aiming to donate clothes and this time I’m going to be very selective about where I do this!

NINE: SPEND LESS

I really appreciated my buy nothing unless it was necessary month (& attempt to live off one salary). Even just a month has given me a whole new perspective on living simply and not buying a whole tonne of unneeded/unwanted stuff!

TEN: LESS SCREEN TIME

Addicted to the internet – CHECK! I really want to cut down on my screen time and that will be one of my big aims this year.

ELEVEN: MAKE/CREATE 5 THINGS OFF MY PINTEREST BOARDS

If you don’t follow me on Pinterest feel free to – aussiemor. These could range from recipes to a home diy, I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to achieve this one because I haven’t limited myself to specifics.

TWELVE: FINISH BABY GIRL’S NURSERY

Each time I walk into our office/dump room I get a little more nervous. Where are we going to put all the filing, photos, crafts and other bits and bobs let alone the office itself?! I’ve finally gotten excited though and started searching out different pieces which will pull everything together. I also don’t want to spend too much money so I’m planning on doing minimum crafting and using what we already have which includes repurposing some items from Logan’s room which were used in his nursery.

I’m also finding this one difficult because I know down the track we’ll want to have them both sharing a room when we downsize so there’s no point going ‘themed’ if it’s not going to suit a joint room. Thankfully I’m not scared about gender restrictions so Logan will be living with pops of pink and BG with dinosaurs!

THIRTEEN: SPENDING ONE-ON-ONE TIME WITH EACH KID

This is especially important to me in regards to Logan because his whole life is about to be turned upside down. I’m hoping he will adjust easily but to make it easier on him we will be having some special one-on-one time doing an activity of his choice hopefully out of the house!

Baby Girl will also be getting one-on-one time with me seeing as she’ll never know anything other than having a brother in her life. Not that it will make much difference to her early on but I think it will be a nice way to build our relationship.

FOURTEEN: DATE MY HUSBAND

He is an amazing man, father and partner and I am definitely guilty of not making enough time for him. This one will get tricky once we’re a family of four but I’m not going to let that be an excuse. We won’t be able to afford the fancy meals that we’re somewhat accustomed to but I’m looking forward to making it work and finding fun cheap date ideas.

I think I’ll probably be aiming for a “date” once a month but it would be nicer if we could have them more often.

What’s Bubs Up To: shimmying and shaking; still making me uncomfortable but that comes without saying. Making herself “known” on the outside – I’ve finally seen some movement

Symptoms: a sore tooth – I probably can’t pin this one on her and I think it’s my gums more than anything which I know is a pregnancy thing

Cravings: chips and sweets

Keep that away from me: nothing

Weight: unknown.

Feelings: still dizzy; getting excited about having a little girl in our family! Nervous because I finally got the real reason explained to me as to why I need to have all the scans – apparently little girl has a very slight risk of developing incorrectly eg: head stops growing at normal rate. So now the nerves are back but so far so good!

Random: We think we’ve come on to a name but again I don’t think anything is set in stone until we meet her. It’s kind of nice knowing but also a bit frustrating because it might not be her name at all. For now, she is still being referred to as Baby Girl.

And because I’m being mean and keeping the name a secret here’s a photo:

What’s Bubs Up To: stretching out and making me feel really uncomfortable (haha I laugh because I know it’s only going to get worse!); hiccuping too

Symptoms: this pregnancy is throwing everything at me (other than morning/all day sickness) this week it was clogged up sinuses which meant two nights of no sleep and a horrible Wednesday in lots of pain – thankfully it only lasted one day.

Cravings: chips and sweets

Keep that away from me: nothing

Weight: no clue, I definitely don’t feel as fit as I used to be though 😦

Feelings: still dizzy; getting excited about having a little girl in our family!

Random: Logan has been so cute, talking to his baby sister through my belly, blowing raspberries, it’s adorable.